FIFA World Cup Set Piece Takers [Qatar 2022 Edition]

The FIFA World Cup is finally here!

Yes, that’s right.

Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated competitive tournament in the history of sport is about to get underway.

In a nutshell, 32 footballing nations come together every four years to battle for the prestigious title of best team in the world.

You get to see the most talented superstars showcase their ability on the global stage, which brings a lot of excitement.

With that in mind, we thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the dead ball specialists who’ll be responsible for whipping in those free kicks and corners on the game’s biggest stage.

But, why is this important?

Well, by identifying the set piece takers present at the World Cup, spectators can develop more informed opinions about the teams in action, as well as make better predictions with regard to match outcomes.

So, let’s get right down to business.

World Cup set piece takers list for Qatar 2022

The names you’ll see in the table below have been compiled by watching footage of numerous World Cup qualifying games, international friendlies and Nations League matches, so you can be sure that this is the most up to date list on the internet!

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Which player is likely to score the most from free kicks at the World Cup?

This is actually a great question.

A good number of teams have players who are capable of delivering inch perfect corners and free kicks, such as:

• Kevin De Bruyne – Belgium;
• Neymar – Brazil; and
• Lionel Messi – Argentina

The Argentinian maestro is especially good at curving one in beyond the wall, as he’s registered an astonishing 60 free kick goals in his career so far.

You’d expect Messi to score at least one or two in the tournament, particularly if Argentina progress to the later rounds of the competition.

Also don’t be surprised to see some famous footballers lying down behind the free kick wall, because the match stakes will be extremely high.

Can you imagine a player sneaking the ball under the wall and into the goal with a low driven ground shot?

Well, players at this level are entirely capable of pulling off such attempts, so you should grow accustomed to seeing defenders literally put their bodies on the line!

Changelog

Unfortunately, there are a number of players who have picked up injuries that will keep them out of the upcoming tournament.

Others simply missed out on final team selection having featured in qualifying matches and friendlies.

Here’s a short changelog to the set piece takers list that indicates which players miss out and their potential replacements for dead ball duty:

1. Karim Benzema > Kylian Mbappe first choice to take penalties
2. Phillipe Coutinho > Raphinha promoted to backup penalty taker as Coutinho wasn’t selected
3. Sadio Mane > Ismaïla Sarr potentially takes spot kick duty as Mane misses the tournament because of a knee injury

Closing thoughts

This short article should have provided you with the information you need when it comes to each participating team’s set piece takers at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then you’d probably also enjoy our league specific articles which cover Europe’s top set piece specialists, such as:

• The set piece takers in the English Premier League;
• French Ligue 1’s set piece specialists;
• Italian Serie A set piece takers for 2022/2023;
• German Bundesliga set piece list for 2022/2023; and
• Spanish La Liga set piece takers for the 2022/2023 season

Alternatively, you can have a look at our detailed guide on the 2022 World Cup stadiums that will be used in Qatar.

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Samuel Waihenya

CEO & Digital Publisher at Cosy Content Limited

Samuel Waihenya is 27 years of age and has been watching, discussing, as well as playing soccer for well over 10 years.

With a solid educational background in business management, the Soccer Whizz website is his first foray into the digital web space and it has been created with the intention of providing the absolute best soccer content for its readership.

Have a read through Samuel Waihenya's author bio page here.

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